Combat
Combat in Magna is, for lack of a better word, paradoxical. While we would love for you to smite all of thine enemies with furious anger, we would much prefer you not do that to the people playing those characters. Primarily, we say this because we want everyone to have fun, and most people find injury and pain less than entertaining. There is also some business-type reasons, but so long as everyone follows the following rules, no one but the administrators will need to worry about those. The Hold Rule This not the most important rule on this page, but it is the one most players will come into contact with first. When you hear the word "Hold!", please stop whatever you are doing. This word has a lot of meanings, and if you keep swinging away at that orc, you will never know which one it is. Most Holds are Clarification Holds. They have multiple uses, from asking about a rule, to questioning a character's strength out-of-game (usually because of a rule issue). When these are called, just stop, and pay attention. You might find out about a rule you yourself were unsure of. But, please, do not respond to questions unless they are specifically addressed to you. The next most common hold is the Story Hold, also called a Descriptive Hold. They can be called by both Plot and players, and are generally about figuring out what, in the environment, is different than reality. It might be that a certain distance is simply not there, and the hold exists to let your heroic characters move across vast distances in a small amount of time. Or, an NPC is approaching the players with weapons raised, and the players want to know what kind of creature is attacking them. The Most Important Hold is the Medical Hold. If you hear "Medical Hold", STOP!, look around for the source of the hold, and take a step back from it. If you are close, take two steps back. Then, please, drop to one knee. It helps the right people see where they need to be. A Medical Hold is called when a player falls ill, whether by overeager opponents, a foot placed wrong, overheating, snakebites, an allergic reaction, or something less dire, but as important. Once the hold is called, appointed first-aid personnel will step in to take care of the situation, and only first-aid personnel can stop a Medical Hold. When a Hold has come to its conclusion, the person who called the hold (in most cases) will call "Is there any reason for this hold to continue?". Those who have a reason for it to continue (even if it is to switch Holds), speak up. Otherwise, the caller will say "Ready? 3, 2, 1, Play On!", and the Hold ends, and play resumes. General Rules Hitting Too Hard We've mentioned before: please do not actually hurt other players. The easiest way to do this and look cool at the same time is a "60/40" rule. That being: Put 40% of your swing power in the actual swing, and 60% on the backswing (away from your opponent). The swing takes a little practice, but it can become second-nature in no time. Illegal Targets In Magna, there are three areas of the body that cannot be targets of any attack, be it packet or weapon: The head, the neck, and the groin. If a player is hit in one of these areas, they can choose to not take the effect. In the case of injury (including dazing), the attack is assumed to not affect the target. Contact All contact in Magna should be done through packets and weapons. But, to develop the experience of play, there are times when physical contact is immersive and necessary. Please be safe, do not body-slam someone off a ledge. As a general rule, if it is not safe to do, do not do it. But, assuming it is safe, you still need the other person's permission. Simply say "Request Physical Roleplay". The other player is allowed to ask what you are doing, which you must respond to; do not say "You'll find out" in a cheeky voice. Even then, the other player has the opportunity to say "No." If they agree, and the action is safe, then the physical roleplay may commence. Otherwise, talk out the actions. Packet-Delivered Attacks Spell packets are small (around 1in3) balls of bird seed wrapped in fabric. In Magna, they are used in place of thrown weapons and spell effects that have a single target. A packet counts as a legal hit if it touches any part of an opponent (with specific exclusions listed in the effect description). Specifically, a packet counts as landing a legal hit when it hits a target's: Shield, clothing, costuming and hands. Packets are legal when they contact a persons face and groin, but they still fall under the Illegal Targets rule. Flurry, or When You're Hitting To Often It is possible to hit too often. This usually means that the player is not pulling back on their strikes. As a general rule, all weapons can hit the same target twice before they must be pulled back to a forty-five degree angle. This is as much to let your opponent tally damage as to keep a breathing pace in battle. Specific Combat Situations Tripping Do not try to trip someone with your weapon, or any part of your body. This can be: putting your weapon underfoot when they are moving, pulling a leg out from under them, shoving with a weapon, or another method this writer has not thought about yet. Charging In short, do not get too close in combat. If you are able to hit someone's back with your weapon, this is charging. This most often results from someone not coming to a complete stop when approaching an opponent, hence the name. To determine "Too close", have you and the opponent place one arm straight out from your chest. If either can touch the other's chest with a hand, you are too close; call a hold for yourselves, and back up to the appropriate distance. Turtling, or The Tower Shield Rule While Shields are a part of Magna combat (they were a part of medieval combat, after all), they are meant to aid the player is defending themselves; they should not become the end-all defensive structure. This means that a shield in Magna must leave at least one foot of body (if one's head is a foot tall, than at least one shoulder's worth) exposed above itself, and must not come lower than a player's knees. Even in these guidelines, there is room for abuse. A posture can mean everything. A player cannot hide behind their shield. They cannot kneel behind the shield. If there is not a place for the opponent to hit, the shield is too big, or the player is illegally hiding behind it. Either way, the shield must go away. On the other hand, a shield can move around, as long as it does not cover all legal targets at once. Trapping and Pinning These two terms describe the act of physically restraining an opponents weapon. Trapping is the act of holding an opponent's weapon with your hand, or with your weapon against your shield. This is technically illegal, but to dissuade you from its use further: when trapping an opponent's weapon, you take any and all effects that opponent can use through that weapon. Pinning is when a weapon is caught between an opponent's weapon and another object, such as a tree. This is also an illegal action. An opponent's weapon can be held away from their body, so long as the opponent is able to free the weapon without letting go. Be aware, some weapons can gain leverage against you if you do his. You have been warned.